by Subhash Arora
Marchesi di Barolo came. So did Marchesi di Frescobaldi. Big names like Antinori, Gaja and Masi were there too. So were other members of the Grandi Marchi, like Lungarotti and Mastroberardino. Established importers like Brindco, Sonarys and Sovereign participated.
A new importer, Amfora, who now imports wines from producers like Felsina, Elena Walch and St. Michael Eppan, was also there.
The event kicked off on January 15th at the Grand Maratha in Mumbai. Over 150 visitors attended the Panorama of Italian wines seminar which was held in the morning, more than 50 the lunch hosted by the Grandi Marchi. Most were mainly from the food and beverage fraternity, but there were also members of the local press.
Attendance in Delhi on the 17th January was overwhelming for Indian standards. About 400 came to the walk around in the afternoon and 62 to the Grandi Marchi lunch hosted at Aangan Restaurant in Hyatt Regency, where a dozen producers presented wines to selected food and beverage managers and the press.
In the evening, the walk around tasting was transformed into a cocktail event with live music, ambient lighting and a specially designed Made in Italy buffet and finger food sponsored by Buonitalia. Over 280 people attended. The exhibitors, numbering about 50, slightly less than last year, seemed extremely pleased with the turn out and quality of the visitors.
